• Behold, wonder, and contemplate truth, goodness, and beauty, and have the confidence God deserves while you teach the next generation to love the things worth loving!

    St. Thomas Aquinas' Prayer Before Study

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    Monthly Devotions


    Allegory of the Battle of Lepanto
    Paolo Veronese (1572)

    October Devotion

    Pope Leo XIII established the practice of dedicating the month of October to the Rosary. In a letter dated September 1, 1883, mindful of the Rosary's power to strengthen faith and foster a life of virtue, he recalled its victories throughout history and called upon the faithful to dedicate the month of October to the Blessed Virgin through the daily recitation of the Rosary. He urged them to seek, through her intercession, the grace that God would console and defend His Church in her sufferings.

    Historically, this devotion commemorates the decisive Battle of Lepanto, a victory that helped preserve Christian Europe against the advancing Ottoman Turks. The Christian fleet, commanded by Don John of Austria, was significantly outnumbered by the formidable Ottoman armada. On October 7, 1571, the Christian forces achieved a remarkable victory over the Ottoman fleet, a triumph that Pope Pius V attributed to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

    Prior to the battle, Pope Pius V called upon the faithful throughout Christendom to pray the Rosary for the success of the Christian fleet. Tradition holds that on the day of the battle, he received a vision of the victory despite the great distance separating him from the battlefield, an extraordinary event in an age long before modern communication. In thanksgiving, he instituted the Feast of Our Lady of Victory on October 7, 1571. Pope Gregory XIII later renamed it the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.

    Added Reading: 

    Prayer:

    Queen of the most holy Rosary, in these times of such brazen impiety, manifest thy power with the signs of thine ancient victories, and from thy throne, whence thou dost dispense pardon and graces, mercifully regard the Church of thy Son, His Vicar on earth, and every order of clergy and laity, who are sore oppressed in the mighty conflict. Do thou, who art the powerful vanquisher of all heresies, hasten the hour of mercy, even though the hour of God's justice is every day provoked by the countless sins of men. For me who am the least of men, kneeling before thee in supplication, do thou obtain the grace I need to live righteously upon earth and to reign among the just in heaven, the while in company with all faithful Christians throughout the world, I salute thee and acclaim thee as Queen of the most holy Rosary:

    Queen of the most holy Rosary, pray for us.

    https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/prayers/view.cfm?id=763

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